The Town of Bedford accepts food waste composting at the Transfer Station! Bedford residents can bring their compost material, in a compostable paper or plastic bag (see attached flyer for more information), to the Transfer Station free of charge. There are large blue bins located next to the Solid Waste Building and the Recycling Center for disposal.

Composting is an easy and sustainable way to make a positive impact on the environment. Food waste contains valuable nutrients that are good for the soil and over time can be used as an alternative to expensive chemical fertilizer. Composting also introduces important organisms to the soil that repel some plant diseases and convert nitrogen to a usable form. If food waste ends up in a landfill, it is deprived of oxygen which slows down the decomposition process and in turn produces methane gas. Then, once the material finally decomposes, the nutrients that it produces end up going to waste. The compost material collected at the Transfer Station will be put to good use by fertilizing the Town fields, parks, and cemeteries. This will replace the commercial fertilizer the Town currently uses.

Composting food waste will also save the Town on disposal costs. Nationally, food waste makes up about 25% of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) mass, this translates to 1,500 tons per year for Bedford. The Town’s pervious MSW contract expired at the end of 2022 and the Town experienced a significant increase in MSW fees. In 2022, the Town paid $77.13 per ton for solid waste disposal. With the increase in fees the Town now pays $115.52 per ton. A realistic goal of removing 300 tons of food waste from the MSW stream would translate into a minimum of $34,656 of savings annually.

The Bedford Recycling and Composting Committee (BRCC) is looking volunteers for to join the group! Please contact Chairman, Jerome Spooner, at (603)-472-3070 or jspooner@bedfordnh.org.

Renewal Garden and Compost is a local company that offers weekly or bi-weekly compost pickup at your home! Please visit their website for pricing and more information. Click here

Town of Bedford Composting Information Flyer

Acceptable and Unacceptable Compost Material Information

Compostable Plastic Bag Requirements

For more resources, please visit The Northeast Resource Recovery Associations' (NRRA) Food Waste & Composting website: https://www.nrrarecycles.org/food-waste-composting

Another great resource to check out is Grillio's Guide to Food Waste and Composting. Thank you to Ms. Platt's class for finding this great article!